Beforal

Beforal - General Information

A synthetic morphinan analgesic with narcotic antagonist action. It is used in the management of severe pain.

Pharmacology of Beforal

Beforal is a synthetic opioid agonist-antagonist analgesic with a pharmacological and therapeutic profile that has been well established since its launch as a parenteral formulation in 1978. The introduction of a transnasal formulation of butorphanol represents a new and noninvasive presentation of an analgesic for moderate to severe pain. This route of administration bypasses the gastrointestinal tract, and this is an advantage for a drug such as butorphanol that undergoes significant first-pass metabolism after oral administration. The onset of action and systemic bioavailability of butorphanol following transnasal delivery are similar to those after parenteral administration. Beforal blocks pain impulses at specific sites in the brain and spinal cord.

Beforal for patients

Opioid analgesics impair the mental or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially dangerous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery. Effects such as drowsiness or dizziness can appear, usually within the first hour after dosing. These effects may persist for varying periods of time after dosing. Patients who have taken butorphanol should not drive or operate dangerous machinery for at least 1 hour and until the effects of the drug are no longer present.

Alcohol should not be consumed while using butorphanol. Concurrent use of butorphanol with drugs that affect the central nervous system (e.g., alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and antihistamines) may result in increased central nervous system depressant effects such as drowsiness, dizziness and impaired mental function.

Butorphanol is one of a class of drugs known to be abused and thus should be handled accordingly.

Patients should be instructed on the proper use of STADOL NS.

Beforal Interactions

Concurrent use of butorphanol with central nervous system depressants (e.g., alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers,
and antihistamines) may result in increased central nervous system depressant effects. When used concurrently with such drugs, the dose of butorphanol should be the smallest effective dose and the frequency of dosing reduced as much as possible when administered concomitantly with drugs that potentiate the action of opioids.

In healthy volunteers, the pharmacokinetics of a 1-mg dose of butorphanol administered as STADOL NS were not affected by the coadministration of a single 6-mg subcutaneous dose of sumatriptan. However, in another study in healthy volunteers, the pharmacokinetics of butorphanol were significantly altered (29% decrease in AUC and 38%
decrease in Cmax) when a 1-mg dose of STADOL NS was administered 1 minute after a 20-mg dose of
sumatriptan nasal spray. (The two drugs were administered in opposite nostrils.) When the STADOL NS was administered 30 minutes after the sumatriptan nasal spray, the AUC of butorphanol increased 11% and Cmax decreased 18%.

In neither case were the pharmacokinetics of sumatriptan affected by coadministration with STADOL NS. These results suggest that the analgesic effect of STADOL NS may be diminished when it is administered shortly after
sumatriptan nasal spray, but by 30 minutes any such reduction in effect should be minimal.

The safety of using STADOL NS and IMITREX® (sumatriptan) Nasal Spray during the same episode of migraine has not been established. However, it should be noted that both products are capable of producing transient increases in blood pressure.

The pharmacokinetics of a 1-mg dose of butorphanol administered as STADOL NS were not affected by the coadministration of cimetidine (300 mg QID). Conversely, the administration of STADOL NS (1 mg butorphanol QID) did not alter the pharmacokinetics of a 300-mg dose of cimetidine.

It is not known if the effects of butorphanol are altered by concomitant medications that affect hepatic
metabolism of drugs (erythromycin, etc.), but physicians should be alert to the possibility that a smaller initial dose and longer intervals between doses may be needed.

The fraction of STADOL NS absorbed is unaffected by the concomitant administration of a nasal vasoconstrictor (oxymetazoline), but the rate of absorption is decreased. Therefore, a slower onset can be anticipated if STADOL NS
is administered concomitantly with, or immediately following, a nasal vasoconstrictor.

No information is available about the use of butorphanol concurrently with MAO inhibitors.

Beforal Contraindications

STADOL Injection and STADOL NS are contraindicated in patients hypersensitive to butorphanol tartrate or the preservative benzethonium chloride in STADOL NS or STADOL Injection in the multi-dose vial.

Additional information about Beforal

Beforal Indication: For the management of pain when the use of an opioid analgesic is appropriate. Also indicated as a preoperative or preanesthetic medication, as a supplement to balanced anesthesia, and for the relief of pain during labor.Mechanism Of Action: Beforal is a mixed agonist-antagonist with low intrinsic activity at receptors of the µ-opioid type (morphine-like). It is also an agonist at κ-opioid receptors. Its interactions with these receptors in the central nervous system apparently mediate most of its pharmacologic effects, including analgesia.Drug Interactions: Not AvailableFood Interactions: Avoid alcohol.Generic Name: ButorphanolSynonyms: Butorfanol; Butorfanol [INN-Spanish]; Butorphanolum [INN-Latin]; Butorphanol TartrateDrug Category: Analgesics, Opioid; Antitussive Agents; Narcotic Antagonists; NarcoticsDrug Type: Small Molecule; Illicit; ApprovedOther Brand Names containing Butorphanol: Stadol; Moradol; Beforal; Stadol NS;Absorption: Rapidly absorbed after intramuscular injection and peak plasma levels are reached in 20-40 minutes. The absolute bioavailability is 60-70% and is unchanged in patients with allergic rhinitis. In patients using a nasal vasoconstrictor (oxymetazoline) the fraction of the dose absorbed was unchanged, but the rate of absorption was slowed. Oral bioavailability is only 5-17% because of extensive first-pass metabolism.Toxicity (Overdose): The clinical manifestations of butorphanol overdose are those of opioid drugs in general. The most serious symptoms are hypoventilation, cardiovascular insufficiency, coma, and death.Protein Binding: Serum protein binding is approximately 80%.Biotransformation: Extensively metabolized in the liver. The pharmacological activity of butorphanol metabolites has not been studied in humans; in animal studies, butorphanol metabolites have demonstrated some analgesic activity.Half Life: The elimination half-life of butorphanol is about 18 hours. In renally impaired patients with creatinine clearances <30 mL/min the elimination half-life is approximately doubled. After intravenous administration to patients with hepatic impairment, the elimination half-life of butorphanol was approximately tripled.Dosage Forms of Beforal: Spray Nasal
Liquid NasalChemical IUPAC Name: Not AvailableChemical Formula: C21H29NO2Butorphanol on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ButorphanolOrganisms Affected: Humans and other mammals